House vote set for brewery bill

While it may not overshadow San Jacinto Day in the sweep of Texas history, this April 21 could prove quite a significant date for beer enthusiasts in the Lone Star state.

The full Texas House will likely vote on the brewery bill Thursday. (THURSDAY UPDATE: The bill has passed the House and is headed to the Senate.)

HB 602, the measure sponsored by state Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, and championed by Saint Arnold Brewing Co. founder Brock Wagner, was placed on the Local, Consent and Resolutions Calendar. A spokeswoman for another Houston legislator, Senfronia Thompson, chairwoman of the Calendars Committee, says 602 has a good chance of being read twice and voted on by the House.

The bill would help small brewers, in particular, by allowing them to send people away with up to a case two six-packs of beer following brewery tours. Wagner recently told lawmakers that this could prove to be his best marketing tool.

Past efforts have failed due to strong opposition from distributors wary of any changes that might affect the three-tier system in which they have exclusive rights to buy product from brewers and sell to retailers. But the bill passed a major hurdle last month when it was endorsed in committee by both major distributors groups in committee.

Consent Calendar items don’t have any fiscal impact for the state and typically are passed without any hot debate.

If approved, the measure will go to the Texas Senate. Wagner said recently he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the chance for passage.

Meanwhile, HB 660, which would allow brewpubs to sell beer to distributors, remains mired in the Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee, where it was strongly opposed by the politically powerful Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas.